The staff instantly got to work, and Layla felt her core stabilizing. The pressure she had been feeling all the time and had gotten used to reduced, and Layla instantly felt her body feel lighter.

She could feel the change in herself, and it made her blink in shock and pleasure.

'I did not realize how much stress I was under. This feels much better than I expected. Should I try to deepen my bond with this staff?'

Layla felt so relieved and pleased that she wanted to investigate further. She decided to investigate the staff more deeply, but the second she started, someone grabbed her wrist to stop her.

She looked behind, only to see an uncomfortable expression on Mary's face as she stopped Layla.

"Miss, you should not rush to fulfill your contract like this. It won't be good if you get hurt even further because of this."

Mary warned, and she looked annoyed and disturbed when she looked at Layla. Her subtle glances at the staff made Mary realize she needed to tone this down.

"I understand. I will not rush into any contract. Thank you for this staff. I will put it to good use."

Layla thanked the man who gave her this stuff, and the dwarf looked pleased to see her appreciate his work.

"Hmm, as long as you use that staff properly and not cause any trouble, I am fine with whatever you choose to do with it. Ah, but do be careful not to overlord and uncover other staff functions independently.

I don't want to spoil the surprise after all."

The dwarf had a mysterious smile on his face when he said that.

His words meant that there were more things one could do with this stuff than cast spells, and Layla decided to try it.

The staff's magic felt alive and guided Layla along the way. She molded her weapon and played around with it, and before she knew it, the staff in her hand had molded itself to form a gun-like shape.

Layla had been intimidating and familiar with guns in her past life, so it was easy for her to imagine guns and how they function.

"Woah! What is that? I have never seen any weapon like this before. What do you even use it for? How did you form it?"

The dwarf's eyes widened as he looked at Layla's 'new' weapon and marveled at it.

"This is a gun. I don't know how I formed it. I just thought about it, and the staff modemed itself. Was that the 'surprise' you were talking about to me?"

Layla asked, and the dwarf hummed in surprise.

"Well, not exactly, but it is close enough! Now, please hurry up and show me what this weapon can do. I want to know if I should look more into this or not. Would this be a 'hit' weapon?"

The dwarf looked excited at the notion of being able to sell more of this weapon.

It was small and looked easy to use. It also felt like a nobility that people might like to collect.

Unfortunately for the dwarf, Layla saw through his intentions, and she did not want to show the older what this weapon could do.

'This world already had magic and a lot of weapons. I do not want guns to come into play. Who knows what would happen if this world had a weapon like that.'

This world was balanced (if you could call it that) because it required massive investment to use a weapon or magic.

But guns were a different deal. Even a beginner could use a gun if they had enough strength to pick it up. And with magic in the mix, things might become even easier for the users.

So, Layla pretended she did not hear the dwarf asking her to show him the weapon again, and she decided to look around a little more before deciding it was time to leave.

"Mary, if we are done here, let's head back. You can pay, and I will wait for you outside."

Layla ordered before she quickly left.

She was careful not to show how fast she was running away, but anyone could tell she was heading out before being asked any more questions.

"Hey, wait a minute! I need to-"

The dwarf reached out to grab Layla's arm, but Mary caught him to prevent him from doing that. Her smile told the man before her that she did not appreciate this.

"I am afraid I cannot allow you to head after our young miss. If you have anything to ask, you can ask me instead. After all, I am the closest person to our young miss and can answer anything you want me to."

Mary gave the dwarf a small smile, which made him nervous. The dwarf gulped his nervousness down before he looked away in shame.

He did not dare to ask Mary anything, especially when Mary was looking at him with that look.

"N-No, it's nothing. Please pay up what you owe me, and we can even call it. I must have made a mistake before."

The dwarf was still curious, but he was not suicidal. He knew that if he went after Layla now, then Mary would end up killing him. So, he decided to take his time and ask Layla about her weapon again.

"You should reel in your greed a little bit. I know I can to you because you were the only one willing to sell me anything as long as I paid the price, but I hope you know better than to look into the Duchy's affairs."

It was not advice but a threat. Mary would show this dwarf no mercy if he tried to play with her and come after her young miss.

Erwin heard her, and he quickly backed off a second time. But the greed in his eyes stayed the same. He had gotten a small look at the weapon so he could, in theory, create it again.

Little did the dwarf know that a gun was not a 'regular weapon' and that imitating its external shape would not help with its use.